by Sumter M Carmichael ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 26, 2013
An intriguing memoir that provides an eye-opening perspective on institutionalized medicine.
In her debut memoir, a psychiatrist learns important lessons about physical and mental well-being while dealing with her own illness.
At one point in Carmichael’s engrossing book, she stresses the importance of “finding the right story—that is, understanding the connection between physical symptoms and responses to stress and anxiety,” and this balanced, holistic approach informs the work as a whole. Her own medical odyssey began when she was 30 years old and pregnant with her first child. She noticed a strange tingling in her legs but simply marked it down to her pregnancy. She did the same thing two years later, during her second pregnancy, when she experienced numbness. (“Strange how you can be so wise and fool yourself at the same time,” she writes.) Other symptoms came and went, and she ignored them, until 10 years after the initial symptoms, when it became obvious that something was seriously wrong. After she received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, she began to notice a split between facts and emotions that she explores throughout this book: “While the neurologist looked so pleased at making the diagnosis,” she writes, “he did not seem to notice or care that I was emotionally devastated.” This disconnect prompted Carmichael to explore the psychological aspects of chronic pain and disease, starting with her own. “In retrospect, I can see that I was depressed, but I did not know that then,” she writes. “I could not sleep through the night and had difficulty concentrating, but all I knew was that I felt numb inside.” Using a combination of historical overviews and individual case studies, she effectively illuminates the value of understanding the emotional elements of a patient’s battle with chronic pain. Overall, she effectively points out the personal, almost spiritual, aspects of chronic care, while also stressing the need for more empathy on the part of doctors.
An intriguing memoir that provides an eye-opening perspective on institutionalized medicine.Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2013
ISBN: 978-1479230402
Page Count: 242
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by David B. Agus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2014
Useful but disappointingly commonplace tips.
In a follow-up to The End of Illness (2012), which explored how technological advances will transform medicine, Agus (Medicine and Engineering/Univ. of Southern California) restates time-tested but too often overlooked principles for healthy living.
The author outlines simple measures that average citizens can take to live healthier lives and extend their life spans by taking advantage of modern technology to develop personalized records. These would include a list of medical tests and recommended treatments. Agus also suggests keeping track of indicators that can be observed at home on a regular basis—e.g., changes in energy, weight, appetite and blood pressure, blood sugar and general appearance. He advises that all of this information be made available online, and it is also helpful to investigate family history and consider DNA testing where indicated. Along with maintaining a healthy weight, Agus emphasizes the importance of eating a balanced diet, with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and a minimum of red meat. Avoid packaged vitamins and food supplements, and if possible, grow your own vegetables or buy frozen vegetables, which will generally be fresher than those on supermarket shelves. The author also warns against processed foods that make health claims but contain additives or excessive amounts of sugar or fat. Regular mealtimes and plenty of sleep, frequent hand-washing and oral hygiene are a must; smoking and excessive time in the sun should also be avoided. Agus recommends that adults should consider taking statins and baby aspirin as preventative measures. He concludes with a decade-by-decade checklist of annual medical examinations that should be routine—e.g. blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol screenings, from one’s 20s on; colonoscopies, prostate exams and mammograms later—and a variety of top-10 lists (for example, “Top 10 Reasons to Take a Walk”).
Useful but disappointingly commonplace tips.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4767-3095-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
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by David B. Agus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2012
Oncologist Agus (Medicine and Engineering/Univ. of Southern California) predicts that the application of advanced technology for modeling complex systems will transform 21st-century medicine.
The author writes that a remark Nobel Laureate Murray Gell-Mann made to him in 2009—“Look at cancer as a system"—transformed the way he views his own specialty and the entire field of preventative medicine. It made him realize that “[r]ather than honoring the body as the exceedingly complex system that it is, we keep looking for the individual gene that has gone awry, or for the one ‘secret’ that can improve our health.” Agus writes that although the ability to sequence the entire human genome is a great step forward, it is insufficient for achieving a significant breakthrough. Even though it may start with a mutation, cancer “is a dynamic process that's happening…far from the confines of a static piece of DNA”—it involves the body's immune system, its ability to regulate cell growth, metabolism and more. Agus directs his university’s Center for Applied Molecular Medicine and is the co-founder of two personalized medicine companies, Applied Proteomics and Navigenics. His hope is that their research will contribute to developing better analytical tools for preventative medicine and for the treatment of cancers. These will address the functioning of the body as a whole, applying digital technology already used by physicists to provide virtual models of cancers and model the action of proteins that regulate cell communication in the body. He also hopes to develop tools that will provide information on the concentration of different proteins in a drop of blood taken from a patient, which may reveal the onset of disease. The author also includes some guiding principles and warnings about certain healthy practices that may not be so healthy. A refreshing change of pace in the medical field, but by venturing beyond his field of expertise to pontificate on a wide range of subjects, Agus makes his otherwise intriguing narrative difficult to follow.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4516-1017-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Free Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
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